The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1887-05-27
Chemical Fertilizers

Lime as q fertilizer. Next TO 1arm.
yard manure IS a fertilizer, in the eye
of many Il farmer comes lime, which
is not good fertilizer. We frequent
ly hear farmers express themselves
"Give me plenty Of lime and | am sat
isfied." Unfortunately, what satisfies
the farmer does not always satisfy the
field. Lime is nothing but Il stimu
liant. 1t stimulates the soil, decOm
poses some mineral and organic mat
ter, which, in the form Of soluble salts
and gases, are made available fol
plant structure. The actual manuri'
al result of lime, is, indeed, very small
and scarcely worthy Of consideration.
No matter how poor soil may be in
other elements, it always contains suf,
iicient Of available lime to supply the
wants of innumcrable crops, and the
constant growing Of plants is adding
to the soil much faster than it is ex-
hausted. From eight to fifteen pounds
of lime to the acre is all that any OF
our farm crops require. BY this it can
be seen that no permanent improve
ment can be expected from the con-
slant application of lime. Lime mix
ed with the manure before putting it
IN the soil is a very bad practice, as
the lime Immediately expels the ac-
tual ammonia, and acts as a purifier,
instead of a fertilizer When the two
ingredients are to be used together,
the lime should be put on the soil and
plowed under, and the manure added
afterwards, so that they do not come
in such close contact. There are 9TH
er stimulants used on soils, but in the
end they are harmful All such stim
ulants dissolve ont of the earth its
richest mineral elements. leaving the
soil without materials to give struct-
ure to the plants. BY adding 100 to
$50 bushels of lime to the acre every
year. the land will soon be lined to
DEATH"
Bone is the best fertilizer. The
question in the minds of tie farmer to-
day is, Glow can we obtain the larg-
est crops and restore to the soil those
elements just carried off by the last
harvested crops :" When we consider
that thirty-three bushels or one ton of
wheat, or sixty bushels of corn. will
take from the soil, by their kernel
alone, so pounds of ammonia, 20 of
phosphoric acid, and 16 of potash,
then We can see what an effort it costs
to restore to the soil its losses with the
ordinary means at the hands of the far
mer. Farmyard manure, on account
of its richness in ammonia, is probably
the best agent in supplanting these
losses; but when we think that it con-
tains only one-fourth of one per cent.
of ammonia, and one fifth of one per
cent. of phosphoric acid, and scarcely
any potash, We must consider the fact
whether there is not something better.
cheaper, and less bulky than farmyard
manure, and which at the same time
contains all the elements necessary to
plant structure. The substitute is hon
estly dissolved animal bone fertilizers,
rich in phosphoric acid, ammonia and
potash. Pure raw animal bone con-
tains % per cent. phosphoric acid, and
5 to 6 per cent. of ammonia. When dis
solved with-say 400 pounds of con-
centrated sulphuric acid, &c per cent,
its analysis is as follows: Phosphoric
acid, Il to 10 per cent; ammonia, 4
to A per cent. In the great stock
raising countries, where there are more
than six million cattle slaughtered an
nually, the bone. averaging about so
pounds to each bullock, is yet compar-
atively cheap, and it allows manufac-
turers to produce an absolutely pure
bone for from $50 to $33 per ton, con-
tanning say 1900 pounds of dissolved
bone, 500 pounds of oxide of potas-
SUM, and 200 pounds of ammonical
salts, such as sulphate of ammonia, nj
trate of soda, azotine, etc. This makes,
beyond a doubt, the best, cheapest, and
the most lasting fertilizer. In England
and other countries the cost is almost
double the price in this country
I1nrasters Npir Era"